Kitty Hawk, NC, Offshore Wind Farm Site Leases for $9M

Wind power is blowing strong across the US. Most recently rights to develop the Kitty Hawk Wind Energy Area (WEA) were sold for $9.1 million. It’s the latest offshore wind farm lease sold and comes shortly after the US’s first offshore wind farm came online in Rhode Island last year. Meanwhile a regional grid in southwestern US has generated more than 52 percent of its energy from wind power without no problems showing the future for more is bright.

“This auction saw several bidders late into the auction’s rounds, demonstrating the industry’s intense interest in this area,” said Katharine Kollins, President of the Southeastern Wind Coalition. “Not only does this lease demonstrate the financial commitment from the industry to developing an offshore wind farm off North Carolina’s coast, it also insures North Carolina’s economy will benefit from the hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment the wind farm will ultimately generate.”

The rights for the 122,405 acre parcel were sold through a competitive bidding process held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The winner was Avangrid Renewables, which recently developed the state’s first utility-scale wind project. While the company won rights to develop a wind project, it must now find a utility or other customer from the power such a project could produce.

“The same winds that once lifted the first powered flight above North Carolina’s Outer Banks could soon power thousands if not millions of American homes,” said Nancy Sopko, the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA’s) director of Offshore Wind and Federal Legislative Affairs. “Millions of dollars in private investment drawn to this new ocean energy resource will help North Carolina’s economy take flight, creating new demand for skilled jobs, factories and US flagged vessels.”

With more than 82 gigawatts (GWs) of wind power installed across the US onshore wind farms are currently the US’s largest source of renewable energy—outside of giant hydropower plants. But solar power is quickly catching up. For instance, the Department of Energy reported earlier this year that of the 16.4 GWs of utility-scale wind and solar power added to the US’ electric grid in 2016—out of 27 total GWs—new wind was 8.7 GWs while new solar power was 7.7 GWs of that total. However, the US also installed 3.4 GWs of rooftop solar last year—making the total amount of solar installed last year at least 11.1 GWs.

Still wind is leading and the utilities are integrating it better than expected. Earlier this year the Southwest Power Pool saw reach 52.1 percent or its generating capacity on Feb. 12. “Ten years ago, we thought hitting even a 25 percent wind-penetration level would be extremely challenging, and any more than that would pose serious threats to reliability,” SPP Vice President of Operations Bruce Rew said. “Now we have the ability to reliably manage greater than 50 percent wind penetration. It’s not even our ceiling.”

That and projects like the completion of the first offshore wind farm, Deepwater Wind’s five-turbine, 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island are helping reassure utilities and the public that renewables are viable.

These types of projects are also helping reduce the cost of electricity for US consumers. A report from Lazard earlier this year showed that utility-scale wind (as low as $32 per megawatt hour) and solar power (as low as $46 per MWh) were coming in at lower prices than even natural gas generation (as low as $48 per MWh).

The following system would zero out your power bill and the savings shown would be made over the life of the system

ESTIMATEDSYSTEM*

ESTIMATEDSAVINGS*

Now get live pricing!

How it works: When you enter your details we display a more detailed online estimate. We then
seek live pricing from installers for the size of system you need. Live pricing data is an installer's most
commercially sensitive information and so this is why we are required to validate your name,
address and phone number. If we cannot validate this information your estimate will only
include historical pricing from past installations.

Get Live Pricing from:
Number of Installers: 3 2 1 Historical Prices Only

* Estimates are based on standard costs for utility power and installations in your zipcode and
may vary from the detailed estimate that you will receive once you enter your contact
information below. Calculations are based on a 100% loan over 20 years, with a 25 year payback,
4.5% loan rate, and 3% per year inflation in electricity prices.

TCPA Disclosure: By clicking the above "estimate my system"
button you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and authorize Solar-Estimate.org or our
chosen solar installer/s to use the phone number entered to verify the accuracy of the ballpark
estimate given by the site and give you an accurate quote. Some installers may use
auto-diallers or send automated text messages if they cannot contact you and these may
result in charges to you. You consent to receiving these communications even if the phone
number entered above is on the "Do not Call" register.